More than 3,000 teen campers, staff, alumni and parents on 21 Israel-based NCSY programs and one Yachad summer program celebrated Yom NCSY on July 13, an annual event that marks the extended NCSY community spending the summer in Israel.
The event at Live Park in Rishon Lezion was sponsored by Foundation@ Cross River, the giving arm of a leading financial technology company that seeks to foster programing and initiatives focused on health, education and community support.
NCSY is the premier national youth organization dedicated to empowering and inspiring Jewish teens and is the world’s largest provider of Jewish teen summer experiences in Israel, with more than 2,000 Jewish teens participating in 21 different programs in Israel this summer. Yachad is the leading organization for individuals with disabilities in the Orthodox community, boasting an additional 150 participants. Both NCSY and Yachad are divisions of the Orthodox Union.
The Yom NCSY event drew a record number of participants, including university students involved in the OU’s Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (JLIC). The attendees enjoyed a dynamic performance by Jewish music superstar Mordechai Shapiro, a delicious barbeque and a siyum mishnayos, the culmination of collective learning undertaken by the participants on the summer programs.
More than just a concert or party, Yom NCSY harnesses the spirituality and camaraderie of OU summer programs, during which participants tour Israel and foster new connections to the land, the people and a shared Jewish heritage. Participants also had the opportunity to connect with friends on other programs and make new ones.
“Yom NCSY is a truly magical and meaningful evening that’s become the highlight of our summer,” said David Cutler, director of NCSY Summer, which operates programs in the United States, Israel and Europe for teens with varying interests and from different backgrounds. “We bring together thousands of kids, alumni and friends from all over the world from very diverse backgrounds, and this is the essence of who we are—one Jewish family, on this night and always.”
Said NCSY International Director Rabbi Micah Greenland, “Yom NCSY forms a permanent memory in the minds and hearts of our teens—of inspiration, of unity, and of Jewish pride—that they then actively seek to continue when the programs are finished.”
Sponsoring the special evening was an obvious choice for Cross River, noted Cross River Senior Vice President of Global Public Affairs Phil Goldfeder. A leading financial technological company reshaping global finance and financial inclusion, Cross River is deeply invested in supporting initiatives that help communities drive positive change for a better future.
“Cross River’s commitment to building foundations began the day we first opened our doors, but our work connecting and supporting communities across the globe is just beginning,” Goldfeder said. “We’re proud to support NCSY, an organization close to Cross River’s heart, in linking and empowering teens of all ages and backgrounds through leadership development and guidance.”
